This past Sunday Bear Creek hosted a slope style competition. This was the Final competition in The Showdown Series. It was the perfect day for a competition. The snowmakers were hard at work all night blanketing the resort in fresh snow, the groomers built a great set-up for the competition and the sun was out. It was the perfect blue bird day.

There were over 80 competitors, trying their hardest to make it to the finals. There were some incredible tricks thrown through out day, I am sure it was hard for the Judges to choose who would move onto the finals. In the end of the day they finally had the top 5 for each division and the Over All Series winners.

Top finishers were awarded prizes by Flow Snowboards, Sessions, Armada, Rockstar, The Ski Bum, Hestra, Contour, BC ironworks, Arbor and Atomic. There was $3000 in cash and prizes awarded to the series champions for each division. Everyone was excited during the awards to see what they may receive.

The Showdown Series was excellent. You could see the progression of the riders from the first event to the last. Everybody was trying so hard, but most importantly they were out there having fun and competing against others with similar interests. I would encourage anyone to watch these events or if you’re up to it, even compete.

Last week Bear Creek hosted the Showdown: Rail Jam, a hike park style competition where skiers and boarders hike the park and try to hit as many tricks as they can in the allotted time. For a resort just 50 minutes from Philly we had an impressive turn out! On Monday as I sat in the office asking how the event went I was thrilled to hear that the mini groms put on quite a show out there. Inspired by the “Mini Groms” I decided that I need to try this too. I mean how hard can it be to go up a little incline and place my skis on a metal rail about 12 inches wide, glide over it and drop off. RIGHT…that does sound easy…I know. So little did I know you don’t really glide that well and my skis stuck and I kept moving forward. I personally thought my face plant was pretty impressive! Nailed that landing!!!!

So needless to say when I watch these kids do the rails with less than X-Game jaw dropping tricks in the past I was unimpressed. With my new found respect for the rails, I have a whole new level of appreciation for the skills, training and time on the mountain it takes to really learn how to make something this difficult look easy. As a coach I tell my girls that it is not the big fancy tricks that win a game but consistently working on the basics and doing it well is the only way to master any sport. My hat goes off to all the “Park Rats” that spend their time working the rails, hiking the mountain and making the basic moves look effortless. I applaud your dedication to your sport and wish you all the best!

I also want to put out a big thanks to Tom Lyons and the rest of BC ironworks that work so hard to make our park a fun and safe environment. Great job guys!

There are plenty of reasons to get out there and ride. Bear Creek is 100% open and the conditions are great. Last night I was able to ride for a bit, conditions were great even though it was such a warm weekend. I mostly stayed over on the “F” chair, but also took a few shorts laps in the Black Bear Park. All of the features were maintained well for the amount of abuse they took all day. Shortly after closing the snowguns slowly began turning on. Overnight the snowmakers covered the whole mountain in a fresh blanket of snow.

Need more convincing? Tomorrow February 7 Bear Creek will be running a special for $15 lift tickets.

It’s super easy to redeem this offer, check-in to the Bear Creek Mountain Resort Facebook page or the Bear Creek Foursquare page, show your check-in to the Ticket employee, and you will receive your lift ticket for $15.

I love small furry creatures that predict the weather! Especially when they predict six more weeks of winter. It seemed like this was going to be the winter that never was, but a little rodent has come to proclaim that winter will arrive. “As I look at the crowd on Gobbler’s Knob, many shadows do I see, so six more weeks of winter it must be!” ~Punxsutawney Phil

A quick google search of the Farmer’s Almanac backs up Phil’s prediction, “Because of above normal temperatures, much of the precipitation will likely be rain or mixed precipitation, although, during February, some potent East Coast storms could leave heavy snow, albeit of a wet and slushy consistency.”

I can’t say that I can complain entirely about the warm weather. I was out on the mountain on Monday night with my little one and we had a wonderful time wearing just a long sleeve shirt and vest. The snow was spring like, soft, but surprisingly not slushy at all. I only landed face first in the snow once when I tried to hit a rail in the Family Terrain Park (thankfully there are no cameras on that slope!) and I could still go out and ski some more because I was not wet at all. I think it is pretty nice to have snow and warm nights to enjoy it. There have been many times in the past that we took a few runs and were so cold that we called it a night. I think we have to look at this winter as a gift, good snow and beautiful sunny days…we love blue bird days at Bear Creek!

Have you seen our Muscle Milk snowboard giveaway contest? If not, we are accepting entries through tomorrow at 5pm. All entries must be posted to our Facebook wall. Here are some details:

CONTEST ALERT!! Wanna win this FREE snowboard?

Submit a photo that represents Muscle Milk and Bear Creek. All photos must be posted to our facebook page by Sunday 1/28 at 5pm.

We will choose and post our favorite 5 entries on Monday 1/31. Guests will have from Monday 1/30 at noon to Wednesday 2/1 at 4pm to vote on their favorite photo. The person who submitted the photo with the most facebook likes will win the snowboard.

In the event of a tie, both guest names will be put into a hat and one will be randomly selected.

Happy Wednesday, aka hump day! This means we are halfway to the weekend and one more day closer to 80’s Night, this Friday, and the Showdown Rail Jam, this Sunday!

We received some wonderful news on Tuesday -- we were voted ‘Best of Weddings’ by The Knot for 2012. This is the second consecutive year for this title and we cannot be more pleased. In my attempts to be modest without sounding too advertorial, I want to take a moment to talk about our wonderful banquet facilities and team.

If you didn’t know, our resort has over 26,000 square feet of flexible event space. We can accommodate corporate meetings, weddings, social events..etc. You name it, and we can host it. When you book your event at Bear Creek, you aren’t just getting the space for the day, you’re gaining access to our wonderful event planning and culinary teams. If you happen to be looking for a location to host your next event, consider Bear Creek!

That being said, it’s about that time to start voting for the ‘Best of…’ awards. I ask you to visit the Lehigh Valley Magazine website, click on Best of the Valley Poll in the main navigation and vote Bear Creek ‘Best of…’ in whatever sections that you feel apply.

Bring on Safety Weekend! I just read the scariest article in Ski Magazine, not only is La Nina bringing us unseasonably warm weather and very little snow, but she may also be responsible for other human winter ailments. Note that the article also mentions that even Vail does not have snow this season, a small comfort when I know that if only it would get cold then the Bear Creek snowmakers could work their magic... I digress... the Ski Magazine article while not about Safety Weekend per say, it does have a scary take on the crummy winter weather. La Nina could also be causing pandemic flu epidemics....see why this is scary! Who knew that lack of cold weather causes "colds." Wasn't it our mom’s that told us to bundle up or we would get sick? This gives a whole new perspective to a fresh healthy blast of cold winter air. Okay, enough already… La Nina and Mother Nature bring on the cold, we are ready.

flu prevention is not part of Jan 21-22 Safety Weekend at Bear Creek, it is a great opportunity to learn more about safety on the slopes. As a ski mom that typically hits the mountain with a pack of kids it is important to understand the importance of the new mountain safety. I have no idea how to hit a rail safely and the kids are always begging to go to the terrain parks. We do so with trepidation because they are so little and there are just so many big kids out there. Safety Weekend will have several free clinicsthis weekend designed to educate guests about terrain park safety in the family terrain park. The terrain park guys will be out on the snow showing you what you need to know to hit the rails safely and how to get started with beginner jumps.

One way Safety Weekend has changed my skiing habits forever is the retirement of my cool green hat; I now only wear a helmet when I am on the slopes and I don't think I would feel comfortable not wearing it. It has become as much a part of my ski gear as my boots. Have doubts you can find a helmet that comfortable and warm? If you answered yes, then stop by the Helmet Fitting Booth this weekend and let the staff of Slopeside Sports help you. They can take measurements, make recommendations and even help you try helmets on. Look for me on Saturday at the Helmet Decorating Fashion show, noon in the plaza, 'cause at Bear safety is fashionable!

In just under two weeks the Showdown Series will begin. The Showdown is a series of skiing and riding competitions. The first competition, a rail jam will take place Sunday the 28. The rail jam will be capped at 100 competitors and will be a Jam format. The setup will have multiple features to choose from. The exact features have not yet been released, but this setup should not be disappointing. Now that winter has finally arrived the Terrain Parks are starting to take shape.

Cascade will be closed on Wednesday January 18 for a full park build. The BC ironworks team will be working hard all day and hope to have cascade built by the evening. I know it's hard to predict but Thursday looks like it will be a great day to get out and take some park runs, it’s the perfect chance to get out there and perfect those tricks you have been learning all season.

1/13/12 We have been given a wonderful Friday gift from Mother Nature—SNOW! Unfortunately it only snowed for a small period of time, leaving just a dusting but I’ll take what I can get! We are so excited for the cold temperatures coming our way this weekend AND that it’s Martin Luther King Weekend! As many of our guests are aware, the Martin Luther King holiday is one of the busiest weekends of the winter season. For us, it’s kind of like getting candy as a little kid, so needless to say, we are all very happy. In honor of the cold temps, we are hoping to begin making snow tonight and whenever we can this weekend. To keep updated on our snow conditions, keep an eye on our conditions report.

This winter has been an epic battle with Mother Nature. Now that there is some snow on the mountain and I’m finally caught up with planning and scheduling events for 2012 and even 2013, it’s time to hit the slopes. Oh, and yes, my children are chomping at the bit to get on the snow this week too. I know once I get back on my skis, I will be sneaking in some runs on my lunch break, yup hazard of the job!

However, in my defense I think the events department has come up with some pretty great events for the next year. We have 80’s night coming up on 1/27, so tease your hair and grab some parachute pants ‘cause our DJ will be going retro! Did you know 2012 was a Leap Year? Well we did, so we are hosting a Leap Year Party in Trails End Café on 2/29, and you’ll love what we have planned for Earth Day.

Now I must admit that my favorite new event that we have added to the schedule this year is Ski Dating on the Lift of Love! That is right speed dating slopestyle. Everyone needs someone special and we all want to meet someone that we have something in common with, so why not meet that special someone in a lift line? What a great way to start off a friendship or even a new romance, so join us on Tuesday February 14 at the Lift of Love.

Want to see all the fun things we have planned for 2012? be sure to check out our events calendar. Hey, got a great idea for a fun event? Feel free to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. us, we just might give you a call.